Recently cellular phones, table-type portable information terminals, portable gaming devices and so forth are often provided with a wireless LAN function called WiFi (registered trademark) and near field communication function such as the Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication function, for example.
For example, in the case that a wireless communication terminal having a wireless LAN function is paired with a wireless LAN access point, the wireless communication terminal first searches and lists the access points at which wireless communication can be made using wireless LAN. In the case that, in the access point list thereof, there is an access point regarding which authentication key settings and so forth have already been completed, the wireless communication terminal then pairs up with that access point. On the other hand, in the case that there is no access point, in the access point list, regarding which authentication key settings have been made, the wireless communication terminal displays the access point list on an internal display or the like, for example, and prompts the user to select the desired access point. Further, the wireless communication terminal requests the user to input an authentication key for the selected access point, and in the case that the correct authentication key is input by the user, the pairing with the access point thereof is completed. Thus, the wireless communication terminal can communicate with the access point using a wireless LAN.
Note that as a method of pairing that has been used up to now for near field wireless communication, for example Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-56642 (hereinafter, Patent Literature 1) discloses an acceleration sensor pairing system wherein, when operations to hold a first terminal and second terminal together and move or vibrate these are performed, based on path-of-movement information of the terminals from such operations, the first terminal and second terminal thereof are paired. That is to say, with the acceleration sensor pairing system described in Patent Document 1, the first terminal calculates the path-of-movement information indicating the vibratory paths-of-movement in the event that the terminal vibrates, based on the acceleration information detected by the acceleration sensor when the terminal is made to vibrate by the user. Similarly, the second terminal computes the path-of-movement information wherein the input operations to the terminal is expressed as the path-of-movement in input coordinates when input operations are performed by the user to cause the second terminal to vibrate in conjunction with the vibrations of the first terminal. The acceleration sensor pairing system compares the path-of-movement information computed by the first terminal and the path-of-movement information computed by the second terminal, and when these approximately match, pairs the first and second terminals together.
Also, as a method of pairing that has been used up to now for near field wireless communication, for example Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-243977 (hereinafter, Patent Literature 2) discloses a connection destination selection method for a wireless LAN between an electronic camera and communication terminal. That is to say, with the wireless LAN connection destination selection method described in Patent Literature 2, upon entering a mutual communication range, the electronic camera and communication terminal recognize one another. Subsequently, the electronic camera sounds a buzzer at fixed intervals as to the communication terminal, and if receiving the buzzer sound, the communication terminal transmits information to the electronic camera indicating that the buzzer sound has been received. Further, the electronic camera transmits a “buzzer reply” indicating that the buzzer sound has been received from the communication terminal and confirmed. After receiving the buzzer reply, the communication terminal allows a LAN connection with the electronic camera.
In addition, non-Patent Literature 1 discloses a method for bumping terminal and terminal that are to be paired, wherein pairing is performed based on the position information and point-in-time of the bumping.